Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-24
AMONG IhE MORMONS.
What "a SPringfelder saw and Heard
Among the Disciples of Br CHAM Young
An IntereatinE Letter.

SAN BERNARDINO. Cal. Oct. II, 1857.
To the Editor of the Republic:
Having promised many of my friends of
Springfield and vicinity to write them after
my arrival here and of my Journey here
and concerning this. the southern part of
California. take the liberty of address
ing some general letters to such friends, and
your many readers, through the RErUBLIC.
thereby fulfilling all my promises in only a
series of letters. left Springfield July IS.
and arrived here August 4. having spent
one day of my journey in Salt Lake City.
ing them questions and trying to learn
something of their peculial customs and re-
ligiOn. As to the city of Salt Lake. il is a
modern built. clean. business-like city. while
to the east and south the plain or plateau
extends for many miles. ON travelling to
the city from the east over this plateau on
clear. bright morning. we could see the
kind of country that the Mormons found
when they settled there to build city and
erect their temples. in a country so far
west that they must have supposed they
the next hundred years. and that
they could worship according to their own
peculiar creed. and practice their peculiar
customs unmolested. during all that time:
and yet they are now but little west of the
center of this country. with civilization all
around them and the finger of scorn point
ing at them from every direction. on ac
count of their creeds and their customs.
But as to the country in which these
Mormons settled: 1t was. at the time they
settled there. a desert of sand and sage
brush. on which a tree or blade of grass
did not grow and on which bird would
have starved. And they have taken that
desert and brought water to it from the
mountains by irrigation. and planted trees
and grass and made a carpet of green, in
stead of desert of sand. and they have
planted flowers and made them blossom.
and planted fruits and made them bear. and
planted cereals and made them yield, and
built city and made il beautiful in that
dead plain of sand and sage brush. As for
their religion it will make its adheren:S
better. rather than worse The only thing
for which they deserve to be stigmatized is
their practice Of polygamy. and this. three
fOurths of them claim to have never be-
leved in. and never TO have practiced. and
the younger generation is now discarding
it altogether.
They are a temperate. moral, industrious
people. They hate adultery. deceit and
trickery. and for the first of these. if not
for the others. they deserve the careful
consideration and. might saw. eNempli6-
cation, Of some who are loud in their CEN
sure At breakfast at NV hotel | made the
ACQUAINTANCE Of an old Mormon. who hap--
pened to be- an elder OF one of their tenn
pies. and who was taking life easy. and
when asked him if l could see their tenn
pies he informed me | could and kindly
consented to show me around and explain
the object of some OF them We first went
to one that has been "a years building and
which IL will take ten years yet TO com
plete. 1t is very large. rectangular in
shape. with high towers at each of the four
corners the walls at the base being Il feet
thick. and the whole structure. from base
to tower is of a clear. gray-colored. highly
polished granite with grain As fine as the
finest monument in your beautiful Fern
cliff This granite is quarIied from their
own mountains in Utah. polished and built
into their temple BY the adherents of
the creed for which the temple is building.
The object to which this temple is to b.
sbsurd part of their creed. poiygamy b"ng
discarded. 1t is to be the temple in which
the high council. twelve in number. are to
make intercession for the spirits of those
Of their dead who were or may be too care
less OF indifferent to attend to their own
spiritual business while living here in the
land of probation. They may
o-lirve such interceSsion will be ben
aficial to such indifferent souls. but don't
We next went to their large temple. the
one in which they have their public wor-
ship. This temple, or tabernacle. as they
call il. is built in the shane of turtle
withou. legs. tail or head. Ii seats about
eleven thousand.
The ceiling. which is shaped like the in
side of tn. back of a turtle. was almost
covered with faStoons Of evergreens hung
there. they said. in 20. The acoustic prop
critics of This temple were simply wonder .
full. As / stood in the pulpit my guide
dropped pin (Such a. our wives usel at .
the far end of the building and heard IT
As distinctly As if it had been a pocket
knife dropped in st. Paul.
The organ in this temple is about three
times as large as that in yOur st. Paul
church and was built by the MormonS of .
that city of lumber and materials taken .
from their mountains. There are. | pre- .
sumo. as many temples in Salt Lake City .
as there are churches in Springfield. and
they are built and sustained BY the adher- .
rnts OF the Mormon religion. being taxed. .
ar giving "ne-tenth of their produce for
that purpose.
With their good qualities tn" Mormons
are clannish. They believe their religion Is .
the only true religion and that eventually
all other denominations will be- absorbed BY
theirs While in their tabernacle one Of
the high courCil took the opportunity To .
preach short sermon for my beneiit. after
which he laid his hands on my shoulders
they believe by laying their hands on one
ne becomes their follower and asked me
10 he baptized. but | excused myself until
| should learn more about what such an
undertaking involved.
After had seen some of their temples l
asked my guide. if guide | may call him.
10 show me some of their homes: and for
this purpose | was fortunate In being a"ci-
dentally thrown in the company of one who
had personal knowledge of the very OF
iect, of which | expressed myself a.
desirous of learning something. He was
a much married man. and | presume q
fatherly father. as he had three wives and
twenty-one children. The law Of this gov
errment is such now that the Mormons do
not dare TO publicly be husband to more
than one wife. or father to more than one
family of children. (if this latter can be-
controlled by law but thev have their
plurality of wives and their different FAM
lilies of children. and care Tor them appar
emily as well aS All ordinary man can care
for one wife and one set of children. This
plurality of wives is. as l stated above.
confined - the Older generation, and they
.lalm to believe it is right morally. but
made wrong by statute. My guide was a
hale, hearty man, in age about sixty. Of a
Jolly disposition, and had a comfortable
home in the suburban part of the city. and
he entertained me with his pleaSantries un-
til we arrived at his door. which we soon
entered. and then. there | was IN the midst
of Mormon family, face TO face. and see
ing In living reality. or realities, that of
which had read and which through my
reading had been taught to hate from the .
time when school boy.
l asked my guide. the husband and
z ..k. &